3 Things You Need In You Planner

Simply owning and even using a planner doesn’t automatically make you more organized and productive.

It would be awesome if it did, but how you use a planner and what you put in it are even more important.

Now, exactly what that is, is going to look different for each person because we are not all the same obviously.

But there are some basics that every person should include in some way or another that will turn their planner into the powerful tool it can be.

1-Master, monthly, weekly and daily todo lists

You use your planner to plan your days so it only makes sense that the todo lists you choose your tasks from, be inside. Its a lot easier to track, manage and refer to your various todo lists when they are only the flip of a page away from where you are planning your day.

2-Goal planning and scheduled tasks

Want to know a secret to achieving your goals? Keep your goal planning inside your planner! This was game changer for me because it kept me super focused on my goals. Before I would often set and forget but now the goal plan and the tasks I have identified are right at my fingertips and in front of my eyes on a daily basis, with no extra effort from me.

I know what you are going to say, where the heck do you find a planner that has space for this?!

I get it, I never was able so I created my own! The Life Book planner is a complete goal planner and day planner in one, with built in features for all your todo lists, habit tracking, meal and exercise planning and of course goal planning and more! Learn more about it here.

Or take it for a free test drive here with the free one month printable version.

3-A clear daily plan (not just a to-do list!)

A todo list is not a complete plan. You planner needs more then your appointments, meetings or to do list. A plan is a layout of all the things you have going on in your day, from school drop offs, to meals you are cooking, to business meetings, to tasks you are doing.

Now, I strongly feel that you don’t need to create a plan that MUST be followed to the letter or that doesn’t allow for freedom and flexibility. But in order to be able to accomplish what you desire, you need a clear idea of all the things going on in your world.

I also DO NOT recommend planning your day down to the minute; buffer time for transitions, rest and interruptions is very important.

But do create a plan with all the things happening and the things you would like to accomplish so you have order and direction as your day going on.

There are other things that are super useful to have inside your planner, of course, but I think these 3 are some of the most important, if less obvious ones.

Don’t be afraid to personalize or modify your planner to suit your specific needs, personality and life!

Jennifer

p.s. If you enjoyed this post and would like access to daily free content on all things organization and productivity, you can find me on IG @organized_owl.

How To Prioritize Your To Do List So You Can Get The Important Things Done

Has this ever happened to you?

You make a to do list but at the end of the day you realize you still didn’t get done the things that really needed to get done, so you end up working until midnight?

It makes life feel like an endless hamster wheel doesn’t it? Like you just can’t get ahead and are always working 5 minutes before deadlines.

The good news is its fixable and the even better news is, its not that hard.

What you need to do is prioritize your tasks. As you create a monthly to-do list, weekly to-do list and daily to-do list, you are going to add items in based on urgency and importance.

The following 3 questions will help you decide which items should be on whichever list you are crafting.

The first 2 evaluate urgency, the 3rd importance:

Will there be an negative consequence if I don’t do it today/this week/this month?
If I don’t do this today/this week/this month, will there be time to do it before the deadline?
How important is this compared to the other tasks on my list?

Its comes down to this:

If it’s urgent and important, it comes first.

If it’s urgent but not important, you might want to let it go.

If it’s important but not urgent, it comes second if you have time.

If it’s not important and not urgent…well I think you know what to do.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: Once you have made your list, you need to tackle things in order of importance as much as possible. Life has a way of happening as the day goes on and if you wait to do the important things until close to the end of the day, you are far more likely to run out of time and not get them done.

Interruptions, distractions and unexpected things come up no matter how organized you are so if you accept this and act accordingly, you will be able to get far more done then if you keep trying to create the perfect day.

When you start with the most important things, what might not get done are the things that can be rescheduled another day with little to no consequences.

Prioritizing is en essential part of a productive day and now you know exactly how to do it so you can get the things done that move the needle the most.

Jennifer

p.s. If you enjoyed this post and would like access to daily free content on all things organization and productivity, you can find me on IG @organized_owl.

How To Plan Your Day

Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution – Brian Tracy.

Even if this is partially true, and I am inclined to believe its mostly true, imagine the time you could save over a life time if you started planning?!

I honestly believe this is one of the main reasons why I seem to get so much done compared to a lot of other people. I don’t think I’m a harder worker or have some special talent other don’t, I simply take time to plan things out.

My husband is one of the hardest workers I know and since he doesn’t plan very much (yes, I get the irony…) his days are often a hectic mess and he loses a lot of time to things he might have foreseen if he had done some more planning.

Goal planning, yearly planning, monthly planning, event planning, occasion planning and yes, day planning.

It all adds up to a heck of a lot of time saved and headaches avoided.

Today I want to share the 5 step process I go through to plan out my day so I can be prepared, organized and optimally productive.

Just before we get started, make sure you have a good planner to do this in. I use the Life Book planner, which I created myself because I couldn’t find one that worked well for me. So many planners lack the necessary space to plan properly. You can check out the Life Book here, or download the free mini version here to test it out.

1-Whats already scheduled

Look at your monthly calendar and see what is already booked or scheduled for today. Write that into today’s schedule.

2- Non-negotiables

These are the things you do, often daily, that take time and must be done. We often forget about them when planning our day because they are part of our normal routine but we have to take them into consideration before we create a to-do list so we know exactly how much time we have. So add in any non-negotiables, like school drops off, kids sports practises or meal preparation.

3- To-do List

Looking at how much time you have left in your day, create your to-do list. Look at your weekly, monthly or Master to-do list and decide what should be done today. Start with the most urgent items and add in whatever else you have time for (2-4 items max). If you want, identify any other task you will do IF you have time.

4- Identify your frog

Brian Tracey coined the term Eat That Frog which basically means you should identify and do your most important task of the day first. There are a few reasons for this; 1, since the longer the day goes on the more likely life is to get in the way, it ensures it actually gets done; 2, getting done the task that is the most important first takes off the pressure and makes you more productive the rest of the day. So figure out which task that is and schedule that in first or as early as possible.

5- Loosely schedule in the rest

Lastly, schedule in the remaining tasks on your list at the general time (morning, afternoon or evening) you plan on doing them. Being too rigid with your schedule by putting everything at super precise moments puts a lot of pressure on you to have the day go perfectly and if there is one thing we know, perfection is a myth. You are setting yourself up for failure by doing this because you will likely get off track, get overwhelmed and stressed because things are not going according to plan. So just pick a general time.

Bonus tip:

Start this the evening before so that you have time to prep anything necessary in advance. This is actually a super important step. I get asked all the time if we should plan in the evening or the morning of and I always say both. Start the day or evening before and then finalize it the morning of.

This may all seem like a long process but I promise you, once you get used to doing it, it only take 5-10 minutes tops! Especially if you have already started planning for your week on Sunday, which I also recommend.

If you would like more great content like what you read here, make sure to follow me on IG @organized_owl or on FB @organizedowl.

Happy Planning

Jennifer

Unexpected Things That Make You More Productive

There are of course, the obvious things that make a person more productive, things like batching certain tasks, creating a schedule, getting rid of distractions, etc.

But there are some surprising things that can make a big impact on how much you get done and the great thing is how easy and simply they can be to implement.

So let’s get right to it, because after all, you’e got stuff to do!

Putting LESS on your to-do list. Overwhelm can seriously get in the way of getting things done.
Getting dressed. Doesn’t have to be office attire, but putting on an outfit that feels put together signals to your brain it’s time to be productive.
Your view. Looking at a sink of dirty dishes from your desk in the kitchen? Not helpful.
Lots of natural light. Unless you are a serious night owl, having natural light in your work space energizes you.
Tackling the big stuff first. Ok, so this may not be so surprising if you’ve been following me for a while but doing the bigger, often less desirable tasks first makes you so much more productive the rest of the day. It’s like a weight gets lifted off your shoulders and you get a shot of adrenaline. Seriously, try it, you will see.

Of course, none of these replace some of the classic producvity powerhouses, like using a planner, but they can give you a surprising boost.

Speaking of planners, you do have one, right?…

If not, thats the absolute first thing I recommend you doing. Head on over here to check out the one I use, the Life Book Planner. It has all the features you need (Master to do list, important dates page, budget page, complete goal planning section, meal and exercise planning, bullet journal tracking and more) and none of the fluff you don’t. Most importantly, the design allows you to personalize it to YOUR unique life and needs. Now thats a planner worth getting excited over! (Full transparency; I created this planner. Initially, for myself because I couldn’t find a planner that really worked. Then I realized there were probably a lot of people just like me and they NEEDED this planner in their hands)

Got some Q’s or just want more awesome tips and tricks on how to live more organized and productive? Find me on IG @organized_owl or FB @organizedowl.

Jennifer